On September 14th, 2017, we published revised versions of our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Website Use Policy and published a Cookie Policy. Your continued use of Lynda.com means you agree to these revised documents, so please take a few minutes to read and understand them.

Rethinking the traditional database

- In order to understand the blockchain…and how, for example, it enables Bitcoin,…we first need to cover the basics of a database.…If you already know…what a traditional relational database is,…you might consider skipping this video.…However, I think everyone might enjoy a primer on the topic.…Fundamentally, a database is a place…where we store and manage many aspects of data…for a computer system.…We can store data in a structured way…or an unstructured way.…Let's first look at a structured database.…

Let's use the example of a contacts database,…a place where we might store…people's names and phone numbers.…To find a person and their phone number in this database,…we would use solver code to search the database,…so that it finds and returns the right result to us.…A well-designed database…powered by good hardware is very efficient,…being able to search among millions of records…and return a correct result,…often in less than a second.…In a traditional database,…the data is stored in an organized and structured way.…

Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll

Author

Released

7/14/2017

We're on the precipice of a radical and disruptive new way of conducting all manner of transactions over the Internet. While still in its infancy, blockchain technology demands attention. In this introductory-level course, learn what blockchain is and what it might mean to you. Jonathan Reichental—named one of the world's top 100 CIOs in 2017—dives into blockchain technology from a conceptual perspective. The course is primarily non-technical by design, intended for those working in business leadership positions, data science, and IT management.

Jonathan begins by describing some of the current challenges with the Internet, including existing risks and security problems such as identity management. Next, he describes how traditional online databases function, so that you have a basis for how the blockchain redesigns this function. He then describes how the blockchain becomes a potential solution for many of the existing limitations of online databases. Since the blockchain has its genesis in Bitcoin—the digital currency—he provides some background on that too. He also discusses how blockchain technology actually offers new capabilities beyond simply solving old problems. To wrap up the course, Jonathan shares steps you can take in your organization to understand the implications of the blockchain.